Edison Bulbs

Replica Edison bulbs provide turn-of the-century ambiance. From looped filaments to the original glass molds used in the early 1900s, enjoy a vintage look with modern light bulb technology.

Edison lamps are great for soft lit areas such as restaurants, bars, retail and more. Most of these medium base bulbs use a tungsten filament to recreate the look of original carbon filament bulbs. Our Tripleloop bulb is an actual carbon filament bulb.

Edison Bulbs / Carbon Filament Bulbs

When Edison first invented a commercially viable light bulb, he did so by choosing carbonized bamboo as its filament. This filament could last around 1200 hours before burning out, though it also blackened the inside of the bulb. Because of this origin, today's vintage-style Edison bulbs are sometimes called "carbon filament" bulbs, although most use more modern tungsten filaments (which themselves were developed in the early 1900s). Still, you can still find Edison bulbs with actual carbon filaments, including here at Lighting Supply. (Most of ours, however, have tungsten filaments.)

Early light bulb designs included filaments that filled more of the bulb in long strands and loops, in contrast to the tightly wound filaments we use today. They also produced much less light (fewer lumens) from the energy used. As a result, you had a light bulb that glowed warmly and dimly compared with today's incandescent bulbs, and you could see the glowing filament making beautiful designs inside the bulb.

Today, this warmth and beauty have become popular once more not for practical lighting, but for environmental ambiance. Because of this, you'll see Edison bulbs in a wide variety of settings as decorative lighting, especially in places like bars and restaurants.